Comparing things is easier than sewing.

What with the holidays and the root canals and the laziness, I haven’t had time for actual sewing lately so I have embarked on a little bit of sewing geek-out research. Namely, Misses’ Fitting Shell geek-out research.

…the boilerplate dress from which all of their patterns are designed. The fitting shell is like Bisquick. Maybe you end up making biscuits, maybe an impossible apple pie, but you open the same box and start with the same powder as step one. The pattern people make everything, from the designer patterns to the 1-Hour quickies, by building upon that basic design.

There is a theory, which Mrs. Bishop supports, that it is worthwhile to make up this basic dress in checked gingham and note all of the changes you had to make to it for the dress to fit you perfectly. Then you will automatically make all of those changes to any and all subsequent patterns by that company in that size.

So if you like extra eggy pancakes, you will always add one extra egg if the mix is basic Bisquick. Banana pancakes, blueberry pancakes, cinnamon apple pecan stuffed pancakes — it doesn’t matter because Bisquick always needs one extra egg.

You can’t assume the same thing about Trader Joe’s, though. So that requires another fitting shell. So the question was:

Is Trader Joe’s pancake mix actually Bisquick packaged in a different box?

No this is not Bisquick, but you know what I mean. Stay with me here.

Butterick, McCall’s, and Vogue all used to be separate pattern companies, but now they are all one huge sewing pattern conglomerate with different branding. But many sewers feel strongly about those brands — Butterick patterns are unfitted, McCalls have weird armscye issues, Vogue offers the best fit. But if they are all really using the same Misses’ fitting shell to design from, then my assumptions are probably wrong.

So I waited for a big pattern sale and bought all three patterns. And now I know for sure — Butterick and Vogue are using the same basic pattern. I am going to assume that McCall’s is too, but the pattern they sell for fitting is different. That’s because it was designed by Palmer/Pletsch as a tool to really master fitting, and includes basic patterns for shirts, dresses, etc. too. I don’t believe McCall’s is designing from the Palmer/Pletsch pattern but I am not nearly invested enough in this project to test the theory.

So if I make either fitting shell and fit it perfectly, I can make those changes and perfect the fit of any Butterick, Vogue, or McCall pattern.

So why wouldn’t I just go ahead and do this super clever thing? Because I have read many comments on the interwebs from frustrated sewers who get bogged down trying to fit shells, and I am worried that I will make it up, kill myself fitting it, and then won’t really find it that useful in fitting my patterns because of design ease.

Now I have to decide whether to go back and make the gingham fitting shell or move forward with the three piece ensemble. Mrs. Bishop has never given me a choice before and I don’t like it. I am paralyzed by indecision.

Of course this is no time to make a fitting shell since I have been playing this dangerous game of fantasy eating. You know, when you eat everything in sight at Thanksgiving and don’t gain 2o pounds immediately? So then you think “Hey! I’m somehow outside the rules that apply to mere mortals. I can eat whatever I want and somehow the calories aren’t sticking to me. I’m like Highlander for ladies!!! I am going to eat this tub of icing now.”

So what do you think? Anybody out there swear by fitting shells? Or conversely, anybody think they are a colossal waste of time? Let’s here about it in the comments!

I haven’t made one yet. I’m on the fence. I read somewhere once – Fitting Finesse by Nancy Zieman, I think – that fitting shells are a waste of time because you don’t end up with a finished garment. Nancy recommends buying a basic dress pattern and fitting that instead, so that you have something to show for your efforts. I’ve also read somewhere – Fantastic Fit for Every Body by Gale Hazen – that sewing a fitting pattern in gingham doesn’t really tell you anything, although I forget her reasons why. It’s not that she had anything against fitting shells – she recommended them – just the use of gingham.

I think the gingham is supposed to make it easy to see the grain and how it is hanging (so your adjustments don’t get off grain?)… not that I’ve ever actually *done* this.

I’m pretty sure I will never have the patience or determination to make an actual fitting shell. I’d much rather tackle the pattern with a muslin and see what happens. Now that I have nicely-fitting knit top and pants patterns worked, I find myself using those to compare to new patterns to get an idea of what’s going on. In theory some day I’ll have the same for various companies’ dresses, but really given the number of dresses I don’t sew, it may never happen.

Waaay back when I used PMB I had a fitted shell that I used constantly to alter commercial patterns, quickly and easily. No wadders! Now that I know how most of my patterns pieces should look I can cut, leave extra seam allowances in “iffy” places, baste, fit and stitch.

I’ve also done hand drafted fitting shells and they proved to be time consuming but again so worth it in terms of learning your basic body and what fits.

I think they are 100% time savers over a year’s worth of sewing. Ornery, aren’t I?

Personally, I would do the fitting shell. I can’t because they don’t make them in my microscopic size, but I daydream about drafting my own patterns at some point in the future and the fitting shell would make a better base than a random fitted dress.

But if your size is going to fluctuate, then forget the whole thing. Who needs to fit and refit over and over? Fitting is decidedly NOT fun!

I made the Butterick shell, even though I never buy Butterick patterns, because I knew it was the same as Vogue, but it was cheaper. 🙂

I don’t consider it a waste of time. But I also have never found it to be a foolproof fitting guide.

I consider it useful because it was an easy way to make a bodice sloper–much easier than drafting from scratch, and just as accurate. (I’ve drafted several bodice slopers.)

And I did learn a few useful things about how the Vogue/Butterick patterns are drafted– i.e., how much do I really need to increase the bust dart (not as much as I’d thought) or balance the shoulder seam (again, not as much as I’d thought.)

Having said that– Every time I’ve made up a Vogue pattern, I always still have to pin-fit it. And I never bother to get out my fitting pattern and compare. So the fitting pattern is not a huge time-saver.

I’m not a fan of Palmer/Plesch fitting methods, and I found the McCall’s fitting pattern way too “gimmicky” (expansion folds, etc.) ; such that it was hard to tell what the actual original pattern was supposed to look like. That’s another reason why I went with the Butterick. It looked like more of a true basic pattern.

This is an exercise well worth doing, I highly recommend it! Year ago, when I was thinner and closer to ‘standard’, I did the same thing with Vogue and Burda. Wow! Fourteen adjustments with Vogue, one with Burda. Guess which brand I’ve hardly ever bought since? Now Burda doesn’t have this formal shell option, but you can buy any ‘fitted’ pattern and use it to same effect, for instance I’ve recently done that for a couple friends with the princess-seamed JJ blouse you can download for free.

Incidentally, these shells don’t always work as the basic pattern. The whole point of the Sandra Betzina line for Vogue is that they start from -her- blocks, not Vogue’s, which is why they fit many people better. Well, apart from a glitch where some busybody mangled one of her pants into the regular-Vogue block, eeck, but that got solved quickly.

And you’d better believe that McCall patterns are based on their shell and not Vogue/Buttericks’s. Test that specifically if you use their line.

I’ve made several fitting blocks in my sewing experiments – commercial fitting pattern, hand drafted, draped, and PMB. All taught me something, so I don’t regret doing any of them. The tricky part with the Vogue fitting shell was getting the proper size to start with. From that experience, I learned you can start with just about any pattern size and work your way up or down, but there are some sizes that are easier to convert. From my measurements, I should be a 16 or an 18 at the waist (or non-waist as I fondly refer to it). But the size 14 works best and I do a front bust adjustment and add an 1″ to the side seams. The bigger patterns look sloppy on me, especially in the neck and upper bust.

A fitting shell is – IMHO – well worth the effort. I hired another seamstress to help me fit it well and then used the information in Lynda Maynard’s book to then ues the shell with commercial patterns. Her book – Demystifying Fit – is available on PatternReview.com or about halfway down the page on the right side of Kenneth King’s book page – http://www.kennethdking.com/book.html. With the shell, I realized that I had a short amrhole, as well as a short center back length and a bunch of other issues. VERY informative.

This is a very interesting post. I think I bought the Vogue one last year but never made it. Not sure I still have it, though. But I like the conceptual application. The practical one, on the other hand…

In any case, I’m happy to find out that regular V=B.

I’m starting to be really comfortable with my shoulder alteration and that is a HUGE improvement. Next year I’m tackling my pants problems because I really need some pants, especially for travel and work.

I really, really want to make one, and I know it would be educational, and I know I would lay it out over other patterns to check fit, etc. But I also know I would spend a couple of weeks on it, and I want to finish my Winter sewing NOW, or even YESTERDAY, and pausing to fit a shell somehow conflicts with my increasingly obsessive need to sew my stash right down and wear it!

But also, once you have got your shell made up and transferred all changes back onto the paper (or ideally, card or oak tag version – can you see why it would take me a couple of weeks?) I don’t think it matters what pattern company you use. The point is that a shell fits you exactly and tightly and shows where all YOUR curves come relative to each other. If you then lay it over whatever pattern you intend to use, you can raise and lower curves, lengthen and shorten, etc., and make sure nothing is too tight. You can also alter for wearing ease plus design ease according to your preference and the style. Finding out a pattern is too tight or small after you cut the fabric is disastrous. If it’s a bit too big, it’s usually a very minor matter to take it in. So it may be interesting to know that your body shape corresponds with the Vogue block or the Burda block, your own shell allows you to use any pattern more effectively.

Life is a little less interesting without your blog. Please don’t get tripped up by the fitting shell issue. If it doesn’t appeal to you, it doesn’t appeal to you. Would you like to jump to something else?

Hmmm – I’ve contemplated a fitting shell too and haven’t figured it out yet. I suggest that this is something you could get side-tracked with before you’ve had a chance to rock on with The Book. Fitting shells will teach you a bunch about yourself (I will do one one day) but then will everything else you are doing. Anyway, that’s my chime.

I went on a Palmer/Pletsch weekend course in order to make a fitting shell. I must say, it has made me a lot better at fitting clothes. First of all – it was good to see why it was, that standard-patterns always fit me badly.

Now I know which adjustments to make in tops and pants, an usually just start by making the three absolutely necessary ones. After that – baste and try on. Depending on the drape and give, some finetuning might be needed.

But as a rule – the clothes I make now look good on me and feel comfortable to wear!

I strongly vote for the fitting shell – but only if you have somebody along, who knows what they are doing, and can help you spot the issues and tell you how to deal with them!

I’m Megan

I am a messy hobby dressmaker.

I'm sewing my way through the projects in an old textbook called The Bishop Method of Clothing Construction, hoping to overcome my current practice of stomping on the pedal and screaming when I have to sew something I'm not sure of.